Mismatch

My other roles on Mish Mash were recording sound for the commercials Erin produced, filming the segment Sam produced and editing the commercials Joel produced. Again there were a number of frustrations to deal with, first and foremost being limited to dodgy and occassionally broken handheld microphones instead of Sennheiser 416s. Or the radio lapel mics.

I thought the second best bit of my audio work was Shane chewing into a Kit Kat but for some reason that didn't make it into the final ad. Recording Sally was also fun and she's got to be the most professional actor I've worked with yet. Probably the best of my audio work was the theme song I composed for the Barrel of Monkeys ad. Sadly, Erin thought it too dark so it didn't get used but I reckon she picked a tune that sounds similar. Then again, maybe I should leave production music to the professionals. My Mish Mash theme song was also passed over :(

Sam's segment was really well produced. Sometimes group assignments have been painful because plans fall apart or you're given notice at the last minute. Sam had it all running smoothly, under control and made sure you felt appreciated too. And he had a good story. Shame I had no joy filming it. Part of the problem was the location, the lighting, the lack of a wide angle adapter for the camera, the camera's sound not working - hell, then there was the speed of the gymnast going through her routines. The day was difficult from the 6am start until the following Monday when I wondered how Eliza was going to sync the sound in the interview.

I had something of an epiphany while working on Joel's ads. While putting one shot next to another, I realised how changing the camera angle added to the narrative. It doesn't look like much written here on the page but at the time it was a breakthrough in my head. I also realised this was the first time I'd edited someone else's footage and I felt incredibly fortunate because Joel had provided me with more than enough. Even if half of it was 4:3 instead of 16:9!

Aside from the Myer commercial, the main challenge in editing was shortening the running time. The Reaper Runners commercial could've gone for 45 seconds easily but making it run for a minute seemed too long. I considered trying a bit of ADR since it had been relatively easy to mix and match different vocal takes. The Wicked Hairspray commercial was going to get a new voice for the boyfriend character. Here is an early draft of the commercials: